The present invention relates to aircraft interior equipment and, more particularly, to equipment supports for seats, tables and the like.
Aircraft manufacturers often require business class passenger seats in their aircraft that can translate in the fore/aft and lateral directions for occupant comfort and convenience. The tracking mechanism that provides this function must be robust enough to withstand various use/abuse loads, in-flight gust loads, and crash loads without mechanical failure. Conventional state of the art tracking mechanisms commonly employ two sets of linear tracks consisting of parallel tubes or rails arranged in a rectangular array, two rails for lateral movements and the other two rails for fore/aft movement. The rails used in these conventional orthogonal linear track systems are typically spaced far apart for structural stability. Because of this, it is almost always necessary when locking the position of the seat after a move, that all four rails be locked. If not, the resultant unbalanced moment loads exerted by the occupant can create an undesirable “spongy” feel. This characteristic can be mitigated by employing increasingly heavier and larger elements (e.g., larger rails, larger bearings, etc.). Large and heavy, however, are always undesirable in aircraft seat design where space and weight are at a premium.
Having to lock all four rails of conventional orthogonal linear track arrangements also complicates the control mechanism because of the need to simultaneously lock four separate locations with, typically, a single-hand control. Lateral motion in an orthogonal linear track design is also limited by the width of the seat and the internal real estate required to lock the lateral rails. To increase the lateral range of motion, it is necessary to increase the width of the seat to accommodate the longer rails. Accordingly, what is needed is a support mechanism for aircraft seats and other equipment that provides orthogonal axes of motion without the large footprint and the weight problems associated with conventional orthogonal linear track designs.